When you try to buy a game and Steam shows "Your transaction cannot be completed because you have another pending transaction on your account," it means an earlier purchase attempt never finished. The payment was started but Steam has not received final authorization from your bank or payment provider, so the order is stuck in a pending state.
Until that pending transaction clears or is canceled, Steam blocks new purchases on the same account. This is a safeguard, not a sign that money has been taken twice. The fixes below clear the stuck order, release any temporary bank hold, and get you checking out again.
What a Pending Transaction Actually Means
A pending transaction sits between "you clicked Buy" and "the payment cleared." Steam has registered your intent to purchase but is still waiting on the payment method to confirm the funds. While it waits, the store refuses a second purchase to avoid charging you for the same thing twice.
Your bank may show a matching pending charge or authorization hold during this window. That hold is not a completed payment. Steam only captures the money once the order finishes, and if the order fails the hold is released by your bank rather than charged.
Knowing this matters because the worst thing you can do is hammer the Buy button. Each retry can create a new authorization hold, stacking duplicate pending charges and making the problem take longer to clear.
Wait a Short While Before Retrying
Many pending transactions resolve on their own once the payment provider finishes processing. This is especially common during major sales or big launch days, when payment systems are flooded and authorizations queue up.
For most people the status clears within minutes, though bank batch processing, fraud checks, or 3D Secure verification can stretch it to a few hours. If this is your first attempt at fixing it, give it some time before trying anything else.
Resist the urge to keep clicking Buy while you wait. Repeated attempts only generate more pending holds and can extend the delay instead of speeding it up.
Cancel the Pending Transaction
The most direct fix is to cancel the stuck order yourself. You can do this from the Steam client or the Steam website, and the web version is often more reliable when the desktop app keeps showing the error.
Log into your account, then open your account settings and find your transaction list:
- 1.Click your username in the top right and select Account details
- 2.Choose View Purchase History under the Store and Purchase History section
- 3.Locate the transaction marked as pending
- 4.Click Cancel This Transaction
- 5.Confirm by selecting Cancel My Purchase
Steam > Account details > View Purchase History
Canceling the order normally clears the block right away so you can start a fresh purchase. Any bank authorization tied to the canceled order is released by your bank, usually within a day or two.
Buy Through the Steam Website Instead
If the desktop client keeps throwing the error, switch to the Steam website in a browser and add the game to your cart there. The web checkout sometimes handles a stuck payment differently and gets past a block the client cannot.
This also rules out client-side problems like a corrupted cache or an out-of-date app. If the website lets the purchase through, the issue was with the desktop client rather than your payment method.
Make sure you are logged into the same account in the browser, and complete any bank verification prompts that appear during checkout.
Clear Your Browser Cache and Cookies
When you buy through the website, leftover cache and cookies can interfere with payment processing and keep an error showing even after the order should have cleared. Clearing them gives the checkout a clean start.
Remove your browser's cached files and cookies, then close and reopen the browser before logging back into Steam. You can also try a different browser or a private or incognito window to bypass stored data entirely.
After clearing, sign in again, confirm the pending transaction is gone from your history, and attempt the purchase once more.
Switch to a Different Payment Method
If the same payment method keeps getting stuck, try another one. Changing methods creates a brand new payment path that is not tied up by the previous pending hold.
- If a credit or debit card stalled, try PayPal or another supported wallet
- If a wallet or PayPal stalled, try a direct card payment
- Use your Steam Wallet balance if you have funds available
- Try a second card if you have more than one on file
Before switching, cancel the existing pending transaction so you are not running two attempts at once. Confirm your card has not expired and that your billing address matches what your bank has on record, since a mismatch is a common reason a payment never authorizes.
Turn Off Any VPN or Proxy
VPNs, proxies, and other IP-masking tools can trip Steam's fraud checks, which is a frequent cause of payments stuck in pending. A purchase coming from an unexpected location or a flagged IP gets held for review.
Disconnect any VPN or proxy and connect from your normal home network before trying to buy. Your payment region should match the country tied to your Steam account and your card.
Once you are on your usual connection without privacy tools, cancel the pending order if one remains, then attempt the purchase again.
Check Your Bank or Card for a Hold
Sometimes the holdup is on the bank side. Banks can decline or delay authorizations for security reasons, especially on larger purchases, first-time stores, or unusual spending patterns, and 3D Secure prompts can quietly stall a payment if not completed.
Look at your bank or card account for any pending Steam authorization. If you see one or more holds, contact your bank to confirm the charge is legitimate and ask them to clear any duplicate authorizations.
If a transaction has already failed, the held amount is released back to you by your bank rather than charged. That release follows your bank's own timing, typically within a few days, and Steam cannot speed it up.
Confirm Steam Is Not Having an Outage
Widespread server problems can cause transaction errors that look like an account issue. If checkout fails for everyone, no amount of canceling or switching cards on your end will help until Steam's systems recover.
Check whether other people are reporting Steam store or payment outages, for example on a service status tracker such as downtester.com/steam. Outages are common in the first minutes of a big sale.
If there is an active outage, wait until it clears and then retry your purchase rather than creating more pending holds in the meantime.
Contact Steam Support
If nothing above works, the order may need Steam's direct help. Open a support ticket and give them enough detail to find the stuck transaction quickly.
- The specific purchase that is stuck and roughly when you attempted it
- The payment method you used
- The exact error message you saw
- Whether your bank shows any pending holds
Steam Support can review or manually clear a pending transaction tied to your account. Keep in mind that a transaction already marked as failed is handled by your bank's refund timing, so support cannot release that hold any faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a Steam pending transaction take to clear
Most clear within a few minutes to a couple of hours once the payment provider finishes processing. Bank authorization holds tied to a failed order are typically released within 24 to 48 hours.
Will a pending transaction charge me twice
No. Steam captures funds only when an order completes, and a pending status is a temporary hold, not a finished charge. Repeatedly clicking Buy, however, can create multiple holds that take a few days to drop off.
Why can I not buy anything else while a transaction is pending
Steam blocks new purchases on the same account until the existing one clears or is canceled, so you are not charged twice for the same item. Cancel the pending order from Account details to lift the block.
Should I keep clicking Buy until it works
No. Each attempt can generate a new bank authorization hold and lengthen the delay. Cancel the stuck order first, then make one clean attempt.
Can a VPN cause a Steam pending transaction
Yes. A VPN or proxy can trigger Steam's fraud checks and hold your payment for review. Disconnect it and buy from your normal connection in the region tied to your account.
What if the transaction already shows as failed
A failed transaction is canceled automatically and any held amount is refunded by your bank on its own schedule. Steam Support cannot speed that release up, so you simply wait for the hold to drop and try again.
First published October 15, 2025. Last updated June 4, 2026.
